How did kethsian magic work?

We all know how gielinorian magic works. It comes from the power of runestones or runes for short. These runes are created by guthix using the stone of Jas and were later on continuously created without the need of help from guthix.

When the stone of Jas arrived on Kethsi, it already was a magic-based society. This brings up the question. What was the source of their magic? JMods already confirmed that magic can be done without the need of runes as long as a different powersource is provided. What could this source be?

I've always thought that the race that lived on Kethsi was a runeless race. Like, mermaids and sirens can do water magic without a need for runes, Auspah can do fire magic without runes, and the lower plane races are entirely runeless for all of their magic - Kethsians probably had innate magical abilities that didn't require a power source. The Stone just gave them a huge boost to already-existing abilities.Mods pls notice me

As far as I understand it Runes were never a power source, they were a focus. Magic is harnessing the Anima Mundi (or in the Mahjarrat's case most likely their own Anima), and Runes are just a way to focus that power. That's why in Heart of Stone removing it would remove Magic. It's fully possible that the Kethsians discovered another focus. Even on Gielinor we have Magical rituals that don't necessarily require runes. Or maybe Mount Firewake serves as an Anima "vent" similar to what's on Mazcab? What about the World Gate? Did they harness power from the gate itself or travel to other worlds to obtain magical objects?

And even if there were Kethsian mages before they obtained the stone, that doesn't mean they necessarily had a lot of magical power. We think of Magic as shooting fire balls, transfiguring items or teleportation, but Kethsian magic could have been far more subtle. Maybe they were just seers or Alchemists?

You've also got to wonder, what counts as Magic? In a universe where magic is so prevalent a Kethsian "Mage" could simply be a fancy word for a scientist. And what about Summoning, or Prayer? Here on Gielinor people may stress that it's different from "Magic", but in practise you're still using some sort of Supernatural force to influence the world. Hell, even Herblore could be considered "Magic".

Lastly, the Kethsians could just have been more Magically attuned than Humans. A popular theory is that the Kethsians were "those who walk a higher astral path" that the Moonclan mention in their manual. If that were the case it'd imply they have a much greater understanding of Magic than any Wizard on Gielinor.-

I have noticed your kind does tend to blindly stumble forward towards danger simply because it exists. What is your word for that?

- We call it being a hero.

04-Sep-2017 21:20:22
- Last edited on 04-Sep-2017 21:20:55 by AesirWarrior

^ Pretty sure most magic is harnessing your own anima (aka the energy of your soul), with runes as a way to focus it. Lower plane beings like Mahj, demons, and vyres just don't need a focus.Mods pls notice me

Naval Puppersaid: ^ Pretty sure most magic is harnessing your own anima (aka the energy of your soul), with runes as a way to focus it. Lower plane beings like Mahj, demons, and vyres just don't need a focus.

That seems to be the original explanation, or at least what the Moonclan believe, but I'm not sure if the plot of Heart of Stone makes any sense if that were the case. I guess an individual's soul might be connected to the Anima Mundi?-

I have noticed your kind does tend to blindly stumble forward towards danger simply because it exists. What is your word for that?

Kethsians are probably a more magically-inclined race than we humans are. Magic comes to them easier than magic comes to us humans because their world was an imperfect lower world created earlier than Gielinor by the Elder Gods. Lower worlds are said to be imperfect, compared to Gielinor. Common traits of lower worlds tend to be: wild rampant magical energy, unstable environments, unmolded crystal formation, and the existence of sentient organisms, aside from plant life, etc. Sentient life such as humans, aviansies, elves came into existence due to an anomaly with the anima mundi on imperfect worlds. Sentient life is a mistake, an unintended byproduct of the anima mundi.

So when the first Kethsians started sprouting out of the ground as a byproduct of the anima, their bodies were probably magically adept at controlling that anima. When Gielinor was created, the Elders perfected their planet-making craft so much, they managed to create a planet guaranteed not to spawn sentient organisms. That doesn't mean the anima mundi is incapable of creating anima beings such as Vorago. Just that it won't create mammals like us. The anima of Gielinor, is so refined, it is difficult for humans and other races to manipulate it and do magic on their own without runes, hence it is why we need them. It takes constant generations of evolution, conditioning, and training for humans to heighten and refine their grip on Gielinor's anima to actually do magic without runes (see the Moonclan).I worship Mah, for she is mah homegirl! The correct adjective for Mah's followers are: Mahomies, Mah-homeboys, or Mah-homegirls.

iXaviorsaid: That doesn't mean the anima mundi is incapable of creating anima beings such as Vorago

That may well be the case, but I always wondered if beings like Vorago or the Living Rock Monsters could be a result of the Anima-Mundi of Gielinor becoming unbalanced. Gielinor was created as a balanced world, but it doesn't seem to be anymore. Things like the Forinthry explosion could have changed it to such an extent that it can produce limited forms of sentient life.-

I have noticed your kind does tend to blindly stumble forward towards danger simply because it exists. What is your word for that?